Fraud will always get found out no matter what, which was exactly what happened in this fraud investigation which all started with a routine traffic light stop.

Toronto police recently shared the arrest of 12 people who are accused of obtaining money from leasing companies through fraud. The 12 are part of fraud group that was investigated by a multinational police force specializing in organized crime.

Impaired Driving Led to Discovery

Back in August 2015, a man named Guiseppe Gatti, from Ajax and 48 years of age at that time was charged with impaired driving and was arrested. Cash amounting to $10,000 was found with him as well as multiple credit cards bearing different names shared Toronto police Insp. Peter Callaghan.

The traffic police were naturally suspicious of the find and proceeded to investigate, leading authorities to solving a big fraud puzzle that would cover several countries around the world.

The police uncovered a scheme which involved defrauding lenders a total of about $11 million. The fraud was carried out in the guise of a business related loan wherein fraudsters misrepresented themselves as business representatives or business owners who are looking to borrow money to finance heavy equipment. The said equipment was allegedly never leased at all or is hugely undervalued.

Arrest of 12

The investigations that followed further led to the arrest of 12 people, including Cosimo Commisso, a long-time Vaughan resident. He was 72 at the time and was charged with possession of proceeds of crime and was linked to Project Briscola. The said investigation was so huge that it drew investigators from Australia, the United States, and Canada, shared Toronto police inspector Peter Callaghan at a recent news conference.

Authorities shared that they were able to track the payments to an account under Cosimo Commisso. They also said that his name did not initially came up in the investigation but that he has a record for serving prison time in the 1980s. They shared that he was convicted of uttering a death threat and two counts of counseling to commit murder among other recorded wrongdoings that they did not share further. Callaghan stated that they’re not naming Cossimmo as someone who has a directing role in the fraud.

Police shared that they traced money going across Canada and then reaching Seychelles and Brazil and named the following persons as those charged with participation in a criminal organization and fraud over $5,000:

Fraud will always get found out no matter what, which was exactly what happened in this fraud investigation which all started with a routine traffic light stop. Toronto police recently shared the arrest of 12 people who are accused of obtaining money from leasing companies through fraud. The 12 are part of fraud group that was investigated by a multinational police force specializing in organized crime.